***World's Huge Tragedy

        In looking at the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, we see soldiers taking aim at their enemies and wiping them all out with the push of a button, fast and mercilessly. We who are so precious and meant so much to the Father see no value in human life anymore. If I feel sad, how infinitely more must our heavenly Father feels. I guess I shouldn't be shocked when our society thinks nothing of killing a baby in the mother's womb. God died for us so that we may live, but we kill others so that we may live or simply for our convenience. I still pray for God's mercy on all of us, but I don't think we'll be able to avoid any chastisement coming unless we all convert.

****Christ Makes Us Fearless

        In today's Gospel reading from John 6, in the dark evening when the disciples were in their boat on the sea that had been stirred up by a strong wind, they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward them. They began to be afraid, but he said to them, "It is I. Do not be afraid." How good to hear these words from the Lord! He would say exactly the same to us who follow him whenever we are afraid of something. Let him make us fearless! 

*First Step Required for Salvation (A Warning)

        If you ever wish to be saved, awakening to your sinful state is a must and the starting point. Otherwise, you would die in sin, something to avoid at all costs, for the consequence is most dire. An old Chinese proverb says, "One step in the wrong direction will cause you a thousand years of regret." Except in our case, it would last a lot longer than a thousand years.

**Real Tragedy of the World

        The tragedy of this world in troubled times like ours is that so many people still live just for themselves. They busily do all kinds of things to enrich themselves and try to have fun too. But one thing they lack is true joy in the heart. So basically, it's much ado about nothing. It's sad that with closed hearts, they don't get to experience the deep joy of knowing Christ. The are to be pitied.

***Ingenious Sacrament

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist is a most ingenious sacrament. I can't think of a better way for us to achieve intimate union with the Lord in this physical world. Thanks and Praise be to God! 

***What We Need to Live By

        In Matthew 4, Jesus responded to his tempter, the devil, by quoting Deuteronomy: One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. It's true that if we eat only ordinary bread, we still die one day. But if we "eat up" every word that comes forth from the Lord, we shall have life forever!

*****Best Place to Dwell in*

        Today's Psalm response from Psalm 27: One Thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord. If the Lord dwells in you, you dwell in his house as well, and what a joy it is to dwell in his house! You are with the Lord, being shield from all evil and refreshed continuously by the Holy Spirit. You now remain clean in his presence and enjoy complete freedom in him. There is not another place I'd rather be in. 

**Communion of Saints

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena. I rejoice that we have so many great saints in heaven on our side. We can ask them to bless us, guide us, watch over us, and intercede for us. Favorite saints are too many to mention. Our Blessed Mother is at the top of my list, followed St. John, the Apostle, and St. Thérèse, the Little Flower. How can we ever be lonely?

****One-Two of the Spiritual Warrior

        Two most important things we urgently need to do in these days of end times. (1) Pray unceasingly. (2) Be holy. The two are to go hand in hand to be effective. Abandon yourself in God and it's easily accomplished.

**Looking at Life Again*

         Here's another view. We are on earth now. Time is ticking away, while we continue sinning. Soon life will be over and we face the Lord. The first thing he's going to look into is how much we lived for ourselves and how much for him, while we're on earth. Then it's all over. All this may sound rather gloomy, but I am truly being realistic. I am being far-sighted and wise too.

*Understanding the Crucifix

        I went to Mass at the Mt. St. Joseph Chapel this morning and again saw the large crucifix hanging on the wall behind the altar. If you don't know the Lord, you would see one hanging helplessly on a cross. But if you know him and know why he willingly gave himself up, you'd see him full of glory and strength, and most of all, his love for us. Finally, he rose from the dead and triumphed over sin and evil! 

***Ego Our Spiritual Enemy

        Ego can be a huge burden on our soul, as pride is the worst enemy of spiritual growth. Starve it every chance you get. You can not soar to God if you are weighed down by your ego.

****Best Gift for the Lord

        Communion experience. I receive the greatest gift from God, the Lord himself. So what can I give to him in return? Since everything I have came from him, including myself, all I can give him is my obedience. And he is pleased with this. The Lord doesn't ask for much and is easy to please.

****Christians Don't Die!

        For the Christian, death is not becoming nothing or falling asleep forever or entering into some unknown. Instead, it's awakening to a new life in God, becoming more alive than ever to live the blissful life in paradise with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christians now live on forever with their Lord, Jesus Christ! Get ready while you still have time.

**Heeding God's Calling

        If you hate your sins, then God is calling you. It's time to totally turn to him. The following video message can help.        

**One Wish Before Death

       We usually have something we'd like to do as much as possible before we die. It can be traveling, collecting stamps, woodworking, volunteer work, etc. Having resumed attending daily Mass, I'd like to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist as often as possible before I die, for I realize that this Holy Sacrament is the most precious gift the Lord has given us to help us attain union with him.

****Secret of Rapid Spiritual Progress****

          Back in the 1970s when I was active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement, I was amazed how fast I progressed spiritually when God did the work for you. Years later, God seemed to withdraw from me to let me stand more on my own feet. Eventually, I realized that he's actually calling me to surrender myself to him even more on the contrary, for the more you submit yourself to him, the more he is free to do the work for you! This is the whole secret.

***Best Way of Knowing God***

         Go straight to Christ with total abandonment, not seeking signs, miracles or any affirmation. When the Lord sees such single-minded faith, he'll reveal himself to you quickly. This is the safest and most expedient way of knowing God. 

*****Fulfillment of All Desire*****

        Communion experience. I went limp. Who can possibly resist God's love? I became his and he, mine. I have all I desire. End of quest. 

***The Happiest Sound***

         That's the sound of the breaking of the consecrated host at Mass. You hear it and know that the Lord is ready to share himself with you. He's going to enter you, heal you, and become one with you. Joy without end!

**Choosing Light over Darkness (Smart Move)

         In today's Gospel reading from John 3, the Apostle wrote, ". . . the light [Christ] came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed." If you did something you're afraid to let anyone know, then you have sinned. That's why confession is such a good solution. Happy is the one who is free to tell the Lord everything he has done! This is also a smart move, for the Lord already knows everything.

**Letting Christ Change Everything

        I feel sorry for many older people who have nothing happy to share with others. They talk mostly about their minor ailments and sound so miserable. I wish they would know that Christ can change everything! He can completely change our outlook, give us the brightest hope and the greatest joy, and even heal us! At the moment, I can only pray for them, knowing that nothing is impossible for God. 

**Christ, Cause of Division

        Jesus said that he had come to cause division (Matthew 19, Luke 12). This is true. I've seen members of non-Christian families actually getting along with each other better than those of Christian families. In the latter, we often have non-believing and believing members going separate ways. This shows that Christ is no ordinary subject; he is either true God or false. The fact that he makes many people feel strongly for him and others strongly against him shows that he matters. Satan seeks to destroy the family, so any family that's undivided in Christ becomes a stronghold against any attacks from the evil one.

**Unending Love Real

        I rejoice today in God's unending love for me and everyone else. You can only dream of something like that, but it's real! So I rejoice. 

***Intoxicating Power of the Holy Spirit

        I love the Holy Spirit. I especially love to have him zap me, shake me up, and take full control of me. Then all my fears vanish. Having been totally refreshed, I now feel secure and content.

***Our Best Trip Ever!

         In today's Gospel account from John 3, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man." Jesus must be the only man on earth who had come down from heaven. For this alone, he is to be trusted. The best news is that he came down from heaven so that we can go up there one day. This will have to be the most exciting trip we'll ever take. Hallelujah!

**Love That Overcomes All Sorrows

         Today Tuesday I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Even as I meditated upon the great agony and horrific suffering the Lord underwent, I found solace. For his love for us is truly overpowering.

**Seeking Perfection*

        I listened to Radu Lupu playing Brahms' Intermezzo, Op. 117/1. It's an encore played at his last public concert on Feb. 3, 2019, at the Royal Festival Hall, London. As usual, the great pianist played this beautiful Brahms composition sublimely. Here the artist pursues perfection and we listeners expect to hear perfection. But any art can never be truly perfect and be our end. This leads me to see that only God is perfect, making him our perfect end. Nevertheless, let the great musician inspire you to seek the ultimate perfection, our God.

***Humbling Experience***

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me. It's such a humbling experience that I can only respond by yielding myself totally to him. Such a great joy! 

*****All We Need*****

        I have come to realize and see that Christ is all we need. I couldn't simplify this statement anymore. Truth is always simple and straight forward. You cannot say this about anyone or anything else.

***Storing up Treasures in Heaven

        In today's Gospel reading from John 20, the resurrected Lord appeared to the disciples when Thomas was absent. Later after the disciples told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." A week later Jesus came again and this time Thomas was present. He said to Thomas, "Put you finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." The Lord knows everything that's going on. This makes me happy, for I can do every little thing for his sake and he knows and will reward me for it. Little things add up to bigs things. This is how you can store up treasures in heaven.

***Plea for Accepting Divine Mercy

        Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. God's mercy is great. He'll save you in the last second of your life if you repent all your sins and ask for his forgiveness. If you are reading this message, you heart is still beating and there's still time for you. But one day that beating will stop—where would your soul go then? Divine Mercy is meant for you, but you need to accept it to be benefited. Please don't wait until your heart stops beating.

***Preserving Inner Peace

        The peace of Christ is so precious that you want to guard it against anything that might take it away from you. This means you don't ever want to sin against the Lord. Protect this peace as if it's your own life. As a matter of fact, protecting it protects your eternal life!

***Prophecies to Heed

        Know what's coming now. 

***Simple Reality

        God has shown us that he loves us with an undying tender love, and this will never change. It seems to me that we should then listen to and obey him. Otherwise, we remain lost in sin. As simple as that.

**Unique Fulfilling Experience*

        At morning Mass, Fr. Steven consecrates the bread and wine and they become the body and blood of Christ. I receive the Holy Eucharist and the Lord now dwells in me. This is no ordinary encounter. What happened was the greatest miracle producing the greatest possible gift for us, enabling almighty God to enter to be one with us! You desire the Lord and he is all yours. It has to be the most fulfilling experience one can possibly have.

**The Christian Assurance

        Faithful Christians know that they can trust in their God and that he will always back them up. You just can't get that kind of assured support anywhere or from anyone else, for the God of Christ is the true God.

**All Traced Back to God*

        If you can't get along with other people, mostly likely that's because you are not getting along with yourself. If you are not happy with yourself, definitely it's because you haven't reconciled yourself with God yet. So make peace with God first and everything else will fall into place.

***To Be Made Anew

        To be made wholesome spiritually by Christ, you need to let him heal your soul first. Then the healing of your heart and mind follows and you become fundamentally a new person in him. Any other way may change you superficially, leaving the innermost untouched. Only the one who created you can recreate you!

**Christ for Total Fulfillment*

        I see people who own many nice things and enjoy doing fun things. They seem to be happy and are admired by others not so fortunate. And they are not bad people either. Yet I still pity them if they do not know Christ. For without Christ, all the good fun, happy times, and material enjoyment are empty. Only he can make our lives truly meaningful and completely fulfill us. Anyway, if you don't know the Lord, you have no idea what you are missing. Once you have him, you'll know that you miss nothing. 

***Secret of Peace

        Sins rob us of peace. But even if we don't sin, as long as our ego still exists, we won't experience perfect peace. So forget ourselves by acknowledging that we are weak and need to depend totally upon God. Let bygones be bygones and always look forward and focus upon the Lord's complete selflessness and mercy.

**Amazing Convergence

        A video on the image on the Shroud of Turin and the original Divine Mercy image.

**Never Leave God Alone

        No matter what problem we face, go to the Lord first. For we need him to help us solve every problem his way. After all, he is the Lord and knows best. Besides, ho loves us! So let's not do anything by ourselves if we also love him.

***Most Personal Lord

        We get personal with at most a small number of people in life, but the Lord Jesus can get most personal with any number of us, unlimited, if we allow him. This to me is amazing, beautiful, and so rewarding that we can him as our confidant and even soulmate. 

****Choosing How to Be Rewarded

        Since we are sometimes good and sometimes bad, God rewards and chastises us. We can choose to be rewarded in this life or the next. If you were smart, you'd want to be rewarded in the next life, since that can only mean being granted eternal life. Therefore, choose that and let all the chastisement you deserve come to you in this life. Of course, you can be super good and the Lord will reward you in this life as well. This is being super smart!

***Good Message from a Catholic

        Let Jim Caviezel inspire you.

More Truths About the Shroud

***Secret of Attaining Union with God***

        At Mass, I felt so good that I could let the Lord see all my weaknesses, imperfections, and faults, and tell him all my wishes, desires, and expectations. It is the willingness to let him enter you that completes your union with him, for he is ever ready to reveal himself to you. 

***Only Fitting Response to Christ***

         Today's Communion experience. The Lord is so good that the only proper, sensible, logical good-enough response for us is to go beyond believing, knowing, and consuming him to yield ourselves completely to him without reservation! 

**Best We Can Do

         Christians like everyone else die, but they do not remain dead. Instead, thru death they return to the heavenly Father to enjoy life forever with the resurrected Lord. This fulfills God's wish for them. It's all God's doing and no one can possibly do any better.

**Clearing Your Enemy's Name*

        Have you ever been hurt by someone and feel like retaliating? Most likely that person had a problem and didn't specifically mean to hurt you. Pity him if he needs help. Maybe he didn't know Christ yet. If you are already a Christian, shouldn't you forgive him?  Anyway, I saw this cool video with a good message which should help us become better Christians.

*****Joyful Day!

        A Most joy-filled Easter to all! Christ is Risen! The Lord is I AM; he always exists. He is the life, the creator of all life, so death is nothing to him. In today's Gospel reading from John 20, Peter and John found the tomb empty and I believe that it might have dawned on them that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead. When I received the body of Christ in the Holy Eucharist today, I received the body of the risen Lord. My reconciliation with God is complete—what a joyful day!

**Lesson from the Lord

        In Matthew 19, Jesus said to his disciples, "Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first," referring to those who will inherit eternal life after giving up many things for the sake of his name. To me, the Lord is telling us not to look down or judge anyone, for those who seem to be not as holy as we are may enter heaven before we do. 

***Our Most Positive Model***

        When you think of Christ, you forget all the negative things, for he is our hope and our most positive model. Is there another one who can make us eternally happy? Positively none!

***Living in Reality?*

        You are not, if you are not aware of the presence of the real God, the God of Christ. Strong statement, yes; as truth is never flimsy.

**Families in Crisis

        Fr. Patrick Peyton who used to promote the Rosary popularized the saying "The family that prays together stays together." He is right. Today the Christian family is typically divided because it does not pray together. Many of us pray alone, but praying together as a family is a different matter. Families usually break up when parents are lukewarm or not strongly united as children grow older. They face the assault of the entire secular society, the whole godless world. Satan aims to destroy the family and we must be fired up to fight and win. 

*****How Christ Suffered for Us!

        Because of my past frozen left shoulder, I've been dead hanging from a bar from time to time to stretch my shoulders to keep them in good condition. Even with the aid of wrist support hooks and not hanging with my full body weight, I can only hang comfortably for about 2-3 minutes. As I was hanging this morning, I thought of Jesus hanging from the cross. There were no wrist supports and his hands were totally pierced with his own body pulling on them for hours. How excruciatingly painful it must have been for him on top of all the other sufferings he had already endured. We must never forget his love and be forever grateful for what he has done for us. 

****Owing My Life to Christ*

        Today's long Gospel reading comes from John 18 and 19. After he said, "It is finished," he bowed his head and handed over his spirit. I became sharply aware that I owe my whole life to him! He is my Savior and the Savior of all! Again, sweet tears of joy flowed.

***Good Friday Joy

        Today's Psalm response comes from Luke 23:46: Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he had said this he breathed his last. As I read the response, the Holy Spirit made me shed some joyful tears and I couldn't help crying out "Why do you have to do this, Lord?" It was a human response and the Lord knows.
        I am going to do the Station of the Cross on my own today. I've found the Traditional Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori online. It's succinct, providing the opening and concluding prayers and allowing for unlimited meditation in-between. You can see the PDF files here.  

*****Amazing Prophecy!

        Today is Good Friday of the Lord's Passion. The first reading from Isaiah, 52-13—53-12, prophesying the coming of Christ, some 700 years before it actually happened, is dramatic and truly amazing. You should read it yourself, as it's too long to reproduce here. I am sure that people at that time didn't fully understand that prophecy, but we can look back and see everything beautifully fulfilled. You can say that God's clock runs a lot slower than ours, but whatever he reveals to us in advance always comes true in time. Thank you, Most Loving Father, for giving us your Most Beloved Son so that we may have eternal life! 

**Pity the Myopic Ones

        The war rages on horribly between Russia and Ukraine, causing the destruction of so many properties and human lives. All for their own survival on earth? How ironic and blind! Doesn't anyone think of God and afterlife anymore? Pity all those who see only the trees and not the forest.

**Pleasing God and Myself

        Over the years in the past, I did many things on my own, but always felt that I could've done better. I did learn to do better over time. Once you've known Christ the Lord, you feel differently. As long as I remain faithful in union with him, even though I am still far from being perfect, I know and also know that the Lord knows that I am doing my best. When I know I please the Lord, I feel the joy palpably!

***The One to Follow

        On this Holy Thursday, we had Evening Mass of the Last Supper. In the Gospel reading from John 13, Jesus washed the disciples' feet to give them a model to follow, so that as he had done for them, they should also do. In any situation, it'd be good for us to ask what Jesus would do before we do anything. This takes courage and discipline, but it's the way to become a bona fide disciple.

**Old Age Blessing

        When you are young and healthy, there are always things you specifically want to do or accomplish. Once you get older, you realize that your time left in this world is limited and if you already believe in Christ, you question what the point is of doing anything that's going to satisfy just yourself. So you become famous, important, or admirable for a little bit more, will that make you look better before God? The answer is clearly no. In the time you have left, whether you are old or still young, the wise thing to do is to serve the Lord and start storing up you treasure in heaven. Believe me, the inner peace you'll enjoy alone would make it worthwhile. Unfortunately, many of us do not realize this until we are very old or just before we die.

**Only Way for Us

        As I was enjoying my time with the Lord at Mass this morning, it came to my mind that some of the Ukrainian soldiers might be aiming their weapons at their enemies, deciding when to blow them up. This is what evil can lead us to. All I can say is that we are at the mercy of God, so we need to love, obey, and trust in him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. I don't see another way. Then even though we walk thru the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil (Psalms 23:4).

**The Christian March

        "Never look back" is a good motto for Christians to follow. We should always march forward fighting the battle for the Lord God on our way home back to the Father. When we repent our sins, we simply pause briefly. Once our sins are forgiven, we are recharged and move full speed ahead again without looking back. 

**God Loves Our Soul

        Communion experience. The Lord's love for me is an inherent love for my soul! And I am to respond to him from my soul.

**In Heaven Already

        At Mass this morning I knew that the Lord had already revealed all the mysteries I need to know for my salvation. I am not in heaven yet, but in a way I am already there, as there is absolutely no barrier between the Lord and I now. 

**God Invulnerable to Evil

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 26, Judas Iscariot was getting ready to betray Jesus. This shows clearly that evil is real and Satan always tries to attack God. This time he lost again because he didn't know that it's God's plan that Jesus should die so that we might all be saved. Anyway, follow God no matter how bleak things seemingly look, for evil can never thwart his plan.

**God Loves High Aimers

        Always aim high before God. You want to be good enough to go straight to heaven! If you are satisfied with going thru purgatory first, then you are like the student who is happy if he can just pass the course. He can miss the passing grade by half a point and flunk the course. And that's not being smart. God loves high aimers who trust fully in his mercy and generosity. Allow God to lift you up as high as he wants you to go. This is being smart!

****Incredible, Awesome Sacrament*

        Communion experience. Before receiving the Lord, I was excited, realizing that we can attain union with God and become holy! This is absolutely awesome, exhilarating, and most humbling! Then when I received the Lord, it's like the heavenly banquet being delivered right to me—again, awesome and incredible!

***Amazing Lord!

        In today's Gospel reading from John 13, Jesus announced Judas' betrayal and predicted Peter's denial. I am amazed by the following. (1) Jesus knew that he's going to suffer greatly and be crucified, yet he humbly accepted it all and never complained. He's no ordinary human. (2) He knew in advance when and how Peter was going to deny him. Only God has such power. 

**Union with God Solidified

         Today Tuesday is the day for praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. I am thinking that people bond with each other when they have a good time together, but the bonding is even stronger when they go thru some tough or difficult time together. When we meditate on the Passion of Christ and feel his sufferings, our union with him is also solidified.  

**Eternal Life Begins in This Life

        When we follow Christ, we not only gain eternal life, we start experiencing freedom and receiving peace and joy in this life. By contrast, living without Christ is living a lost, meaningless life devoid of real peace and joy that can last forever.

**Letting God Prepare You

        God is in charge. We should put ourselves in his hands before doing anything. This way, whatever happens to us would be expected. If you do not put yourself in his hands and do whatever you feel like doing, whatever happens to you may shake or shock you and it would be difficult for you to deal with it properly without losing your peace.

*****Max Giving, Max Gain*****

        Communion experience. Christ shed his most precious blood to save me from eternal death—he couldn't possibly have given me more than all of himself. I surrender myself to him totally and gain all of him plus eternal life—I can't possibly gain any more that that. It's God's lopsided love!

**Most Important Thing to Take Care Of

        We don't hesitate to take care of the many things in life. It's often necessary. Yet we totally cast aside looking into our relationship with God, the most important of all things. Let's say that's because you don't have any faith yet. Then the right thing to do would be to find out who Christ claims he is and what he teaches. To head into an unknown future is a terrible thing.

**Switching on God

        God is always calling us. Why? Because he loves you and wants to save you. That is, he wants to give you the vey best in every way beyond you highest expectations. You are now enslaved by your own sins, fooling you into thinking that you can find happiness in this life. But deep down, you know that you won't, and life is short. Like many, you are not able to break free of your attachment to the world to face God for a change. The best way to get going is to start praying to the God of Christ even if you don't know him yet. Tell him honestly about yourself. The more humbly you acknowledge your helplessness, the more he can help you. Getting started is hard, but get started you must. Once you get going with an open heart, it should become easier and easier. If you go all out, your spirit will soar in no time.

***Just Passing Thru

        We who follow Christ already know our endpoint—heaven, that is. So whatever we go thru is what we must go thru for a little while. You might as well enjoy the scenery, while your heart is with the Lord. Doin't complain, be patient, and remain faithful. In fact, be like the breeze, free, easy, and carefree. Before you know, your journey is over. Now it's joy all the way!  

**Be Wise and Have No Regrets

          In today's Gospel reading, as Jesus was carrying the cross to his execution, a large crowd followed him, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" These are poignant words. I believe that such days are coming to all those who ignore the Lord now and will regret later. God's infinite mercy is yours for the asking. But if you do not ask, you could end up regretting for all eternity. My advice: "Never do anything that might make you regret later!"

**We Deny Jesus, Huh?*

        Today's long Gospel reading from Luke 22 & 23 at Mass started with the Last Supper and ended with the burial of Jesus. In it we heard Peter denying the Lord three times. That made me realize that we Christians deny the Lord all the time as we ignore him and go our own way. At least Peter did it out of fear, while we do it not even thinking about it. Shame on us! We need to weep bitterly for ourselves as Peter did after he realized his failure.

***Being Exalted by God

        In today's reading II from Philippians 2, Paul describes how Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth an under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus himself has said to all, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). Now we know exactly how to let ourselves be exalted by God. Let God alone be the Lord over us and ourselves be obedient to the Father as Christ was. Humility marks the true disciple of Christ.  

***The World Betraying the Lord

        Today is Palm Sunday. The psalm response from Psalm 22 reads "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" Jesus was going to go thru his Passion and be crucified. Evil is real! Look at the war in Ukraine now. You see soldiers blowing up enemy soldiers with the push of a button and they cheer and celebrate. The "worst" video I saw shows a sniper taking down what he deemed to be enemies one by one from a long distant away when they were not even seen to be attacking anyone. Are we to decide who should live or die? What about God's commandment "Thy shall not kill"? When a country sends weapons to another country to help it fight a war, isn't that promoting more killing? Anyway, starting a war plays right into Satan's hands and greatly saddens our Lord. During this Holy Week leading to Easter, we need to reflect, repent, repent, repent, and reform to make up for how much we have sinned against the Lord, and pray for peace.

***Blessing Not to Be Missed

        Communion experience. I haven't gone back to attending Saturday morning Mass at my church for a long time. So when I resumed that this morning, it's heartening to see the fairly large attendance and the extra long confession line after Mass. Those of us who believe that we are in end times are now more awake than ever. As I received the Lord again in the Holy Eucharist, God and I united and my eternal destiny was settled. This blessing is not to be missed and is one I believe the Lord wishes to bestow on everyone.

**Know God Is Lord

        God is infinite and we are finite. Infinity is not even a number. If we are assigned any number, that number is in effect zero relative to infinity. Therefore, we must acknowledge that we are totally dependent upon God our creator in every way and live accordingly.

*Heaven Will Be Perfect for Us

        Today in prayer after Mass, I saw that no matter how much we intend to love God, our loving falls miserably short. I suppose that it'll become perfect only after we get to heaven. It's in heaven that our desires will all be perfectly fulfilled.

**Doing What We Can

        Each of us has been given the free will. We cannot make others will to turn to and believe in Christ, but we certainly can will to do so ourselves. We can only do our part and should do it fully for the Lord

*****A God-Given Opportunity

        Christ is the one we'll have to answer to after we die, and he is also the one who reveals to us how we can pass the test on judgment day. This is like getting all the answers to the test questions beforehand! How can we not take advantage of this God-given opportunity? Humble up so you can see, hear, and think clearly!

***Sign You Need Christ

        To me, Christ is so beautiful that if you truly open your heart to him, it'd be impossible for you not to fall in love with him! This has been my experience and is what I proclaim now. Explore on your own and find out the truth. If you cannot completely dismiss him without any qualms, it shows that you need him and that he's calling you. Should you continue avoiding him in this life, you cut yourself off from the source of your life for ever. Turn to him while you still can.

****Utter Dependence upon God

        This is a beautiful thing. God is all powerful and loves us. If we trust in him fully, then everything works out beautifully for us. This is completely logical if the assumption is true. And I know that it is true. It's the perfect way to enjoy God and his peace. 

***Cause of Our Unhappiness

        We are most precious to God who loves us with the greatest possible love. If you are not happy with yourself or anything else, trace it to your relationship with God. Those who have the perfect relationship with God are always happy and peaceful. So, how happy you are depends solely upon how well you get along with the Lord our Savior. 

**Living a Productive Life

        If you do not know Christ the Savior yet, you are most likely living a life for yourself and not helping him save any souls, including your own. This is not being productive. In fact, it can be most destructive. Living for Christ helps him save souls, which is God's primary mission and our obligation if we ever wish to get into heaven. 

If You Really love God . . .

        If you really know the God of Christ, you would love him and want to serve him willingly and unconditionally, not expecting to receive any reward from him. He becomes the only one you care about and live for, with you living the most selfless life. It sounds austere, but on the contrary, it's utterly joyous and liberating!

**More Christian Joys

        Here are two more. (1) The joy of hearing the Lord speaking to you in your heart. (2) The joy and satisfaction you feel, proclaiming God's glory to the world.

****How to Enjoy God the Most****

         Just surrender yourself completely to him and you'll experience the greatest joy of you life. (Don't get too carried away yet; for in heaven, you'll experience the greatest joy of your whole existence!)

**Not the Same Person Again

        Communion experience. The Lord offering himself to each of us present—it was a most personal offering. After you receive the Blessed Sacrament, you are not the same person again! As I realized that, it was 8 AM and the church bells tolled, as if celebrating that joyous moment.

**Making God Treat Us Well

       Jesus told us that the measure with which we measure would be measured out to us (Matthew 7:2). This applies to whatever we measure out to God too. If we trust in him 100%, he'll trust in us 100%. The truth is that he's always ready to respond to us. When we treat him well, he treats us well right away. In a way, we are in control, reaping what we sow.

***Our Only Way to Freedom

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus said to some Jews, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. If the Son frees you, then you will truly be free." We are not free, precisely because we sin. And Jesus, being God the son and our Savior, is precisely the one who can take away our sins, thus setting us free. There is not another way for us to become free!

*Learning to Know What We Do

         After Jesus had been crucified, he prayed, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). I can say that all of us who do not know Christ also do not know what we do most of the time. Even if you already know him, it could take you the rest of your life to learn to know what you do. The time to get started is now!

**End of Quest

        Communion experience. It's like I've reached the end of my life's biggest quest. I can now rest and relax, waiting for whatever God sends my way. 

***Enemy of Peace

        As long as you still have an ego, you will not have complete peace. Vestiges of the ego are most difficult to eradicate. Only most intimate union with the Lord can help you get rid of your entire ego. It's letting the selfless Lord displace the self-centered ego.

**Trusting in What God Says

        When God created the heavens and the earth, he said: Let there be light, and there was light. At the Last Supper, when Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body," the bread became his body. Likewise, when he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins," the wine turned into his blood. Whatever the Lord says, it materializes.

***What Life Is All About***

         It's all about how we get along with God. Do we obey him or rebel against him? Reject God and life becomes meaningless. 

***Extreme Bonding, Extreme Separation***

        The bond we can form with God when we surrender ourselves to him is the strongest bond we can possibly create. Nothing in heaven or earth can break that. On the flip side, when we reject God, we cause the greatest separation from God we can possibly create. Our lives on earth are mild compared to our afterlives. 

***Best Advice for Us*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus saved a woman caught in adultery from being stoned by the scribes and the Pharisees. He finally asked her, "Woman, has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." Gentle, but powerful advice. God's mercy is great. To avoid being condemned, just do not sin anymore. Such a simple formula! With the Lord's help, following it becomes super easy. Nothing is impossible with God if we submit ourselves to him to let him lead us.

****Understanding God's Calling

        When God calls you to follow him, he doesn't call you to be just a mediocre, lukewarm disciple. In fact, he wants you to excel and be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:49). Otherwise, you are still a burden to him. Now, this may sound strange, but true. The more you trust and rely upon the Lord, the less you are a burden to him. This is because he doesn't have to "worry" about you anymore. So let him make you holy, pure, and blameless.

**Reflecting on Ourselves and Christ

        We are finite creatures who live a short time on earth. We don't really understand ourselves. We do know that we have a conscience helping us to know good from evil. Then we have the good news coming thru Christ that we can be freed from sin and saved for all eternity. So are we to accept this God or not? It looks like there is no better other way. The God of Christ seems to be the sensible truth. When you yield yourself to him and believe in him, you finally realize that he is the truth. 

**Communion Response

        All I could do for the Lord loving me was to say I love you and ask him to have mercy on me.

**Why I Like God*

        What I like about the Lord God is you can totally trust in him. His yes means yes and his no, no. When he grants you eternal life, you get it with absolute certainty. God is the very opposite of Satan, who is all deception through and through.

***A Test of the Ego

        On this First April Saturday morning, the Church was quite packed and the line for confession afterwards was extra long—all good signs. Here's one thought on confession. If after I confessed, I still think about how I did and wonder if I impressed the priest, then I still have an ego and that's a sin in itself. To forget yourself is to forget all your ego too. 

*Fascinating Sign*

         A fascinating sign at Fatima on the day of Papal Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

***Ultimate Fulfillment

        Communion experience: man ultimately fulfilled by God.

**Do You Know that . . .

if you already believe in Christ, God has chosen (handpicked) you to inherit his kingdom? Therefore, rejoice! 

**Formula for Living in Peace

        In today's Gospel reading from John 7, some of the Jews tried to arrest Jesus, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. For us too, God has an hour for everything. We are to trust in God and wait for whatever he sends our way. This is how we can live in peace.